Throughout the Tour de France, Australian professional cyclist Richie Porte will be checking in. Here is his latest entry, as told to ESPN contributor Rupert Guinness:Saturday: Stage 8, Pau to Bagnères-de-LuchonRacing a Grand Tour is so hard, but it ramps up when you get into racing a block of mountain stages like what we are in right now with Stages 7, 8, and 9 in the Pyrénées.We are now two of three days down, and the hardest of them is Sunday. Ive said it before, and now I really believe it: the 184.5km stage from Vielha DAran in Spain to Andorra Arcalis should be one of the hardest of this years Tour. On paper it certainly is.Saying that, Saturdays eighth stage, also over 184.5km but from Pau to Bagnéres-de-Luchon, was really tough. It was interesting to hear that Chris Froome (Sky) said it was one of the hardest hes raced in a while -- and he won it, not to mention took the yellow jersey.It was a stinker when it came to the heat. There is no other way to describe it. But at BMC, we were happy with how it panned out. Sure, it would have been nice to win the stage, but I felt good and so did Tejay van Garderen. It was also great to see Damiano Caruso riding so strongly. He is really crucial for us in these stages and he is really making a difference.But one challenge that no one else can really make easier for us is how we look after ourselves during a days racing and in between, and that is not as easy as you may think.We have a great staff on the team who help us be as ready as we can be for another stage. But there is a quick turnaround for a rider between one stage and another, and there is a responsibility to make sure you eat well - and enough - and also continue to rehydrate. That responsibility becomes greater when you are racing back-to-back mountain stages.What makes everything so much harder in the Tour is the size of the event: from the number of people to the logistics of fitting so many people into one region and more. It all makes for delays that can make your day as a rider in the race so much longer. In this years Tour, the transfers have not been the easiest; we do get stuck in traffic quite a lot.As a rider every hour of recovery helps. You eat on the bus. You are eating as much as you can in a day ... and from as soon as you get off the bike. Trust me, its not that easy. Like today, for Stage 8 ... I began by eating my usual breakfast: an omelette with prosciutto and avocado and a couple of coffees. Then, during the stage, I drank at least eight bidons [plastic bottles] of about 600 millilitres each, and ate 10 rice bars and four energy gels ... thats a lot of calories. But I burnt 4,600 calories.Then, when I was up for the anti-doping control, our team doctor who was with me said I needed to rehydrate when I thought all I had been doing all day was eating and drinking. But I certainly took his advice: by the time settled in to the hotel I had drank two litres.Im grateful I get to go back to the hotel in a car, but when you arrive at the hotel the day does not end there. Again, it is about recovery: you get on the table to be treated by the physiotherapist and then you have a massage. By the time you have dinner, which often includes more rice (I prefer pasta, but rice seems to more effective for me), its 8:30-9 p.m.After telephoning my wife Gemma for a chat, I watch a bit of television, or maybe I just sort of look at the screen in a kind of daze, Im so tired. Then it lights out at 10:30 p.m.Then, we do it all again the next day. At the Tour, thats times 21, or 23, if you include two rest days. The first rest day this year falls on Monday, and Im sure many will welcome it. Carlos Lee Jersey . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Dallas Keuchel Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.astrosteamproshop.com/Astros-Jose-Altuve-Kids-Jersey/ . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Josh Reddick Jersey . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Anthony Gose Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Just a couple of weeks back, I wrote a column in which I asked six NFL coaches and personnel men to vote on the best wide receiver in football.?Julio Jones earned five of the six first-place votes, standing above the likes of Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr. and A.J. Green.This column is a similar exercise, though the position in question is running back. I set out to find the best back in football with the help of insights from coaches and personnel men, but the path to an answer was a decidedly different one.Whereas Jones skill set is one that would be tailor made for any offense -- his rare combination of size, speed, agility and explosive burst off the line suits him for any wide receiver duties -- running backs offer a broader blend. Not all successful running backs profile in the mold of Adrian Peterson, a dominant physical force who, when healthy, is at his best running north-south. Arian Foster, who recently retired,, was the ideal fit for the Texans offense he thrived in for several years because of his one-cut running style, equipped with decisive instincts and vision.ddddddddddddTheres no cookie cutter for the perfect back.Moreover, a running backs success on the field is not merely a direct result of his ability: The offensive line matters. Put any running back behind, for example, the Rams offensive line, and the results may not be so robust.Also of note is that Peterson, who has long been considered one of the games elite talents at the position, has been limited to just 31 carries so far this season because of injury.Without further ado, lets take a look at the best running back, according to folks in the league, as a rising star in Dallas gears up for a Thursday night matchup on Petersons home turf.? ' ' '